was that the Colorado thing? i think some people from San Francisco must have migrated to Colorado. if that happened to my kid, i'd be after some major backside!

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone... but they've always worked for me.Hunter S. Thompson

It is interesting that the parents are worked up and the teens are not. Parents even in this enlightened day and age still have problems discussing sex, drugs, and rock& roll with their kids. I think panels like this are a good idea, If for no other reason than the fact that parents that don't discuss issues with their kids suddenly do. If for no other reason to state how much they disagree with the panel. It is still amazing to me how ridiculous most americans view this and how this is such a non issue in other countries.Don't get me wrong I am not saying loose morals, rampant drug use, and consumption of huge amounts of alchool is healthy. I just don't think most kids get a good sense of direction on these items from their parents. Although I am sure every parent out there will disagree with me.

Sincerely,Brendhan

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The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

it is the job of the parent to expose their child to what ever form of morality they choose. it is the job of the school to teach kids how to read, write, etc. we ought not to confuse the two or we will end up with schools like they have in Russia and China. the parents rights will be gone and the state will teach what the state wants kids to know.

what was the point of this anyway? it had no redeeming value. kids are exposed to enough crap that parents have to counterbalance without the schools throwing more at them.

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

it is the job of the parent to expose their child to what ever form of morality they choose. it is the job of the school to teach kids how to read, write, etc. we ought not to confuse the two or we will end up with schools like they have in Russia and China. the parents rights will be gone and the state will teach what the state wants kids to know.

what was the point of this anyway? it had no redeeming value. kids are exposed to enough crap that parents have to counterbalance without the schools throwing more at them.

If most parents did their job I would agree with you. School are a very social enviroment. It actually can have a lot of redeeming value. Education even sex education is far better than ignorance.

Sincerely,Brendhan

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The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

parents have the right to teach their children and the right not to teach. you and i may not agree with a parents choice, but it is certainly not the states job to decide how social issues are taught. to say that because a parent might not teach a thing, or might not teach it the way the state thinks they should, means that the state must take over the parents job, is a pretty dangerous road to go down.

schools might be a social environment, but they ought not to be a social experiment.

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

parents have the right to teach their children and the right not to teach. you and i may not agree with a parents choice, but it is certainly not the states job to decide how social issues are taught. to say that because a parent might not teach a thing, or might not teach it the way the state thinks they should, means that the state must take over the parents job, is a pretty dangerous road to go down.

schools might be a social environment, but they ought not to be a social experiment.

Very well said, Kathy, and spoken like a true parent. It'll be interesting if Brendhan ever has children how open he is to others trying to influence their social development. Judgement is fine, just be sure you're experienced enough to make that judgement. :roll:

I always approve of open and frank discussions. Both parents and schools teach morals to our kids, whether we like it or not. What do you do when a gov't or school district ignores science and biology and teaches abstinance and not birth control for example. Since it takes both good families and good teachers to raise children we should start focusing on whats effective , unpoliticized, education. Too many parenst want to be their childs best friend, instead of their parent, except when their childs morals and experimenation extend to beyond their own childhoods. Then, they want to be parents and "mold" their children.

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"The more complex the Mind, the Greater the need for the simplicity of Play".

What do you do when a gov't or school district ignores science and biology and teaches abstinance and not birth control for example.

why do you have the school teaching this subject? we turn out kids that can't read, can't compete in science and math, yet we spend time on birth control and using rubber dams for oral sex. then, because apparently kids are still flunking this class also, we set up a nursery in the school for the moms and carry on.

the job of the public school is to turn out kids that have an education in the sciences and languages. it doesn't do a kid any good to know how to properly perform oral sex, but not know how to read well enough to fill out a job application.

some kids aren't going to get it, but this goes back to teaching to the lowest common denominator. teach up, not down. if there are kids who don't learn, so be it. at least the ones who do want to learn, and who can learn, will have a chance to be successful.

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

I have no problems teaching sex education at home and school is my point. I dont absolve parents in any way. Yes, schools dumb down curriculum so the "majority" gets educated to a mediocre level. My parents took me to see revolutuionary sites while I learned it at school. Off to NYC to see King Tut when I studied ancient civilizations. Gettysburg for the civil war. USS Eisenhower for memeorial day w/ grandpa a vet etc. Lucky kid I was and am. I undersdtand your disapointment in public education. I refuse to accept this "slide" and abandon public education. It contributed to what makes our country great, and it will do so again in an ever changing world. If we dont save our educational system, our future will be greatly diminished as a whole.

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"The more complex the Mind, the Greater the need for the simplicity of Play".

you can't save public education until you can get ride of the things that are screwing it up. social progressives that want to experiment with the curriculum, like Colorado, and teachers unions that protect bad teachers and bad practices.

on day i took my grandkids' school calender and counted the days they were in school. it ended up being 6 months of the year. the rest was holiday, teachers planning days, parent teacher conference days.....etc.

in all things competition improves product. education is a product. if there were competition for kids (dollars), schools would improve or go away. no child should be forced to attend a failing public school for lack of finances. i pay property taxes on two homes. i would be happy to see my money go to a voucher system so that kids could attend good school, and competition would be created.

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....